Van Meter Hall

There are three different stories behind the origin of the ghost. The one most commonly
known to students is that a construction worker fell through the skylight in the lobby
and was killed. In this version it is said that the blood of the worker reappears
when the floor is washed.

Another version says the ghost is a student who was hanging lights above the stage
and fell onto the floor below. This story also has it that the young man's blood cannot
be removed from the stage floor and finally a new floor had to be laid.

Some have incorporated these two stories into one. The combined version says that
a construction worker was killed, but that he fell through a skylight onto the stage.
Since there is no skylight over Van Meter's stage this was explained by saying Van
Meter had been rebuilt and the skylights above the stage were removed.

The third story behind the ghost of Van Meter is the least known but the most unusual.
It has been said that there are many caverns underneath the hills of Western.

This version says there is a hermit living in these caves and has found a secret passageway
into Van Meter. When he visits, he carries a blue lantern, which explains the blue
light that is associated with the ghost.

Probably the oldest story at Western is the tale fo the ghost in Van Meter Hall .
. . while the current home of the University Relations was being built from 1909 to
1910, something terrible happened. A construction worker fell to his death from some
scaffolding.

Some say the man's demise was caused by a distraction . . . most say it was the thrill
of seeing an airplane in the sky. As the legend goes, he fell onto the floor of Van
Meter's 2,000-seat auditorium.

Now, the spirit of the man's wife and daughter roam Van Meter, singing and talking
in voices no one can understand.